Gardaí are still trying to establish a motive following a knife attack on three victims in Dublin yesterday by a masked man wielding a Stanley knife.
Shortly after 9am on Monday, up to a dozen investigative gardaí scoured Niall Street, Oxmantown Road and the other streets surrounding the areas where Sunday’s attacks took place.
The victims, who were seemingly targeted at random, were attacked on the street in Stoneybatter in Dublin 7 on Sunday afternoon. All three victims, men who are aged between their mid-20s and mid-40s, remain in hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries.
The suspect, a man in his late 20s, was arrested a short distance from the scene of the attacks. Investigations are continuing in an attempt to establish a motive. Gardaí said there is nothing to suspect a link to terrorism or radicalisation at this time.
Michelin star awards 2025: Three new stars for Carton House, Ballyfin and Lignum
‘He has broken me twice’: Former garda jailed for six years for sexually assaulting woman at Garda station
Scottish media bemoans ‘toothless Scotland’ after Groundhog Day-esque Six Nations loss to Ireland
‘It was the worst house in Dublin 4’: Turning a derelict redbrick into a home
The suspect has no known links to any of the victims.
Gardaí said there was no ongoing risk to the public and the suspect acted alone. They have increased patrols of the area “to reassure the community”.
On Sunday, they dismissed unfounded rumours that were circulating widely that the suspect was an asylum seeker and that other attackers were still at large.
Members of an Garda Síochána conducted door-to-door interviews with local residents around Stoneybatter on Monday afternoon, seeking additional details and eye witness accounts to Sunday’s attacks.
Witnesses described a rapidly unfolding incident that began in Stoneybatter at about 2.30pm on Sunday. A man, who had part of his face covered, made his way down from the North Circular Road via Carnew Street, Oxmantown Road and its side avenues with no discernible pattern, attacking people with a Stanley blade. One man was slashed as he wheeled his bike home and managed to run to his front door to call for help.
Another man was attacked at the entrance to his house as he returned home. Gardaí said two of the men suffered serious injuries and another less serious wounds.
Large numbers of armed gardaí, paramedics and firefighters attended the scene. At one stage an emergency worker ran up the street instructing people to return inside because of the danger.
Roughly half an hour after the first call was made to emergency services, a uniformed, unarmed garda apprehended the suspect on nearby Manor Place.
As well as a Stanley blade, he was found to be carrying a pair of scissors. It is understood the suspect is receiving medical attention while in custody.
Gardaí described the attacks as a “serious incident” and appealed for witnesses who were in the area between 2.30pm and 3.30pm to come forward.
“A number of scenes are currently being preserved for technical examination in the Stoneybatter area,” the Garda said in a statement.
Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan said he was receiving updates from the Garda on the situation.
“The suspect is now in custody and the victims of this awful random attack are receiving medical attention,” he said.
“It could have been a lot worse. We could have been sitting here talking about more serious injuries against a greater number of people or we could have, I regret to say, been talking about fatalities had the gardaí not arrived promptly.”
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr O’Callaghan said there had been no history of violent attacks by the individual, and he understood the suspect had not sought international protection.
“It was a shocking experience for the people of Stoneybatter. It was horrific for the three men who were brutally attacked,” he said.
The Minister added that one of the injured men was a brother of a friend of his. “The man came up behind him and slashed him in the back of the neck,” he said.
“Attacks like this are highly unusual,” he added. “The individual appears to have been homeless, South American, and hadn’t really been brought to the attention of gardaí before, although there was some minor interaction I think in 2023.
Sinn Féin leader and local TD Mary Lou McDonald said the community was “in a state of shock”.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
